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Hidden Markov Models

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Encyclopedia of Biometrics
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Synonyms

HMM

Definition

A hidden Markov model is a twofold stochastic process composed of a first-order Markov chain, which is a finite-state machine ruled by state transition probabilities that solely depend on the immediate predecessor, and an associated probabilistic function. In a regular Markov model, the state is visible to any observer external to the model, whereas in a hidden Markov model (HMM), the state is not observable, that is, hidden, but each state has associated output probabilities over the possible observable tokens.

Introduction

Hidden Markov models (HMMs) [1] were introduced by L.E. Baum in the late 1960s [2], and since the mid-1970s [3–5], they have become popular to model the statistical variation of the spectral features in speech recognition research. In the late 1980s, HMMs were applied to the analysis of DNA and other biological sequences. Nowadays, they are ubiquitous in bioinformatics and, in particular, in biometrics.

Architecture and Types

An HMM is...

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References

  1. L.R. Rabiner, A tutorial on hidden markov models and selected applications in speech recognition. Proc. IEEE 77, 257–286 (1989)

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  2. L.E. Baum, J.A. Egon, An inequality with applications to statistical estimation for probabilistic functions of a markov process and to a model for ecology. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 73, 360–363 (1967)

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Hernando, J. (2015). Hidden Markov Models. In: Li, S.Z., Jain, A.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biometrics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7488-4_195

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